Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2) (18 page)

She
looked up at Josh who was staring at a spot on the wall in front of
him. He didn't say anything.

“
Josh,
did you hear me?” she asked.

He
shook his head and stood up.

“
I
think that's a great idea. They would really appreciate it. I'll be
right back,” he said, as he walked away.

What
was that about, she wondered? What was he thinking about? It was
probably nothing. He might have been thinking about his family or
something. Lisa felt a sad feeling. It was nothing, she thought. She
turned on the television for them to watch a movie.

“
Will
you bring some popcorn back with you?” she yelled to him.

He
came back a few minutes later with a bowl of popcorn and two sodas,
and she turned on the movie.

They
spent their weekdays working on business stuff, when Josh was home.
If he left, she would show him what she had done while he was gone.
He was very impressed with her knowledge. It was exciting to him that
she was genuinely interested. She worked on things all hours of the
day. He had never expected her to do any of it. Honestly, he thought
she would work with him for a couple of days and lose interest. She
never did. Each day she seemed more passionate and interested in what
he was doing. Lisa started comparing things and writing down ideas
she had. He saw a pad of paper on his desk one night, when she was
out with Becky. It had some ideas written on it. Curious, he read
over each of them. They were amazing. He wondered why he hadn't come
up with some of them. If he implemented some of them, they would save
him a large amount of money. Why hadn't she shown him? He put the pad
of paper back where he found it. He wanted to see when she would show
him her suggestions.

He
was happy that Lisa and Heath were talking again. They didn't seem as
close as before, but it was getting better each day. Heath came over
to see her a few times. One day, Heath took Josh aside and apologized
for the horrible things he had said to him. He thanked Josh for being
so nice to her.

Lisa
learned to cook a new dessert each week and Josh drove her to the
fire station to drop it off. She would tell them how much she
appreciated them and would sit and talk to them. They would tell Josh
how glad they were that he saved her, so they could have the
delicious desserts. His boss commented on how they would all need to
work out a little extra on the days she brought them food. They all
signed her cast. She really seemed to get along with all of them.
Josh found himself sitting right next to her while they were there.
Some of the guys would joke about stealing her away from him, and
Josh would feel himself getting upset with them. Each time he would
tell himself to knock it off. They weren't together. She could do
what she wanted. Shortly after, he would tell her he was ready to
leave.

The
guys gave him a hard time and teased him about liking her. He told
them to shut up and leave him alone. He was starting to think they
flirted with her just to see what he would do.

Lisa
went with him each Sunday to his mom's house. He could see her
getting closer to his family. It made him feel good that they liked
her and treated her like she was one of them. She didn't have a
caring family, and she deserved one. They took a new dish each week
and a plate of whatever dessert she made for the firefighters. His
mom was impressed with their cooking. Josh saw his brother talk to
her more and more each week. He asked Josh how he felt about her.
Josh told him they were good friends. His brother asked him if he had
feelings for her. Josh told his brother he didn't do love and no he
didn't have feelings for her. It made him happy to see her with his
family. He was happy for her.

Josh
and Lisa had gotten into a flow at home. It was like they had been
roommates forever. Josh hadn't gone out once and never even realized
it. They spent more and more time together as the weeks passed. He
could not remember ever laughing as hard as he did when they were
together. Life was amazing.

He
took her to the doctor to get her cast off. She still had to use
crutches for a couple of weeks. It aggravated her, and Josh would
remind her that it would get a little easier each day. He encouraged
her and helped her the best that he could. Josh drove her to therapy
and would take her to the park to walk with him. He felt bad seeing
her upset about how hard it was. She hadn't realized she wouldn't
just walk out of the doctor's office when they took her cast off.

They
were working in his office one day. It had been weeks and she still
hadn't mentioned anything about her ideas to him. Why wasn't she
bringing it up? She should have been proud of what she thought. He
liked the ideas, but couldn't say anything. They were talking about
one of the restaurants and he realized it was his chance to mention
it. He knew one of her ideas would fit perfectly in the situation
they were discussing.

“
Do
you have any ideas of how to improve anything here? There has to be a
way to improve profits, but I can't figure out what it is,” he
said.

She
sat quiet for a few minutes. He could see her hands shake. Why was
she nervous about telling him?

“
I
do have something that might work. I'm not sure how you will feel
about it. I have a couple of ideas, but I don't know if I should tell
you. This is your business, and I don't want to do anything to harm
it. You have worked so hard for what you have. I wouldn't want
something to fail and it be my fault.”

Are
you kidding, he thought? She was afraid he would blame her if
something went wrong. How could she think that? Her ideas were
amazing.

“
I
would like to hear what you think. I think you could bring something
new to me that I have missed.”

She
reached into a drawer and pulled out a pad of paper. He could see
passion in her eyes as she told him her thoughts. There were even
more notes on the paper than there had been when he found it.

They
spent the next few weeks going over her thoughts and making changes.
He wanted to use many of her ideas. Josh made sure to tell her how
amazing each idea was and why he thought it would work. He let her
implement her ideas and wanted her to see the difference it would
make. Josh hugged her tight and told her she should have talked to
him sooner. They were going to save so much money, and it was all
because of her.

They
had gotten so close to each other as the weeks passed. When they
watched movies, they would fall asleep against each other, and she
would put her head on his chest. They laughed and joked and talked
about so much.

She
told him she wanted to do something for the firefighters and their
families and asked him if he would help her. Lisa wanted to use one
of his restaurants to have a party for them. He told her he could
close for an afternoon to have the party. She had a list of ideas
about what she wanted to do. Lisa wanted to have a nice meal for
them, dancing, games, and something small for each child. She told
him families gave up so much and put so much on the line. They should
be celebrated as well.

Lisa
wanted to wait until she got her insurance money from the fire to pay
for it. Josh told her no. She needed that money to replace the things
she had lost. He told her she should call each of his friends and get
them to donate. They each had a business and would be willing to help
her out. He said he would cover all the food and drink costs. She
cried and hugged him as she told him how amazing he was.

Josh
caught himself thinking about her and how much he didn't want her to
leave. The weeks went by so fast. He wasn't ready for her to go. They
were very good friends and he would do anything for her. He felt like
she was quickly becoming his best friend.

They
started looking recipes up online and making them at home for dinner.
He laughed every time they were successful. She was so proud. The
days they weren't as successful, they would order pizza and laugh
about the disaster.

The
Sunday before her final doctor's appointment, they were at his mom's
house. Josh was in the kitchen and Lisa was in the living room. He
was waiting for his brother to come to the kitchen, so they could
grill the food. It had been a while, so he peeked out the kitchen
door and saw his brother sit down on the couch next to Lisa. The two
of them were alone in the room. Josh watched to see what Jack was
doing.

“
You
and Josh are just friends right?” Jack asked.

“
Yes,
we're good friends.”

“
I
wanted to ask you something,” Jack began. “Would you go
out to dinner with me?”

“
Are
you asking me on a date?”

“
Yes,”
he answered.

Josh
felt like he couldn't breathe. What the fuck was going on? Did his
brother seriously just ask her out? He felt his face redden as he
clinched his fists. Sure, they weren't together, but what was he
doing? Josh thought back to how Jack asked him before if they were
together. He didn't realize his brother wanted to go out with her. No
way, that was not happening. She was not going out with Jack. He knew
he didn't own her, but he didn't care. There was no damn way it was
happening. He was so pissed. He calmed himself enough to keep
listening.

“
I
don't think so. I'm staying with Josh. We are very good friends. I
don't think I could date his brother. I'm sorry,” she said.

Josh
felt his breath release. He hadn't even realized he had been holding
it.

“
You
don't have feelings for each other, right?” he asked.

“
Feelings
just get you into trouble. I can't talk to you about who I have
feelings for, Jack. I'm going back to work and then I need to find an
apartment. I need to concentrate on getting my life in order, so Josh
can have his back. He has put up with me invading his personal space
for a long time. He needs to be able to have his life back the way it
was before I interrupted it. He is an amazing man. The most amazing
man I have ever met in my life. He has done more for me than anyone
ever has. I need to concentrate on giving his life back before I can
think about dating anyone. I'm sorry.”

Josh
walked back into the kitchen, out the other door, and went to sit out
in the backyard. His mom came out and sat next to him. She sat not
saying a word.

“
I
can't believe he just asked her to go out on a date,” he
snapped.

“
Did
you tell him you were just friends?”

“
That
doesn't matter. He shouldn't have done it without asking me.”

“
What
would you have said to him?” she asked.

“
It
doesn't matter,” Josh said.

“
Josh,
look at me. Do you have feelings for her?” she asked.

“
It
doesn't matter. I am not getting involved with anyone. You know that.
She doesn't have feelings for me. Lisa doesn't believe in happily
ever after. Her parents ruined that for her. I need to go. I can't
stay. If I do, I'll end up punching him in the face.

His
mom stood up when he did and grabbed his shoulders. She turned him to
face her.

“
You
can't do this to yourself. Do you hear me? It needs to stop. I know
you lost your father. I lost my husband, my love, and my best friend
that day. You can't push the woman you care about away because you
could lose her. I know that you care about her. You can't fool me.
What if you have ten amazing years together? If every one of those
days are the best days of your life. Should you give up each of those
days because it's only ten years? No, you shouldn't. The time I had
with your father, was the best time of my life. I have three
beautiful children that I love so much. I was devastated when I lost
him, and I still am. If I knew when I met him that I was going to
lose him, but I would have all of those good moments, I would do it
all over again. I don't regret a single second with your father. I
had amazing times with him, and I get to have amazing times with my
kids. Please, stop using his death to hide from love.”